Off The Beaten Path Artists To Open Their Studios For 10th Annual Fall Tour

SMITHVILLE — Want to explore some great art and Middle Tennessee’s majestic autumn landscape?

Make plans now to attend the 10th annual Off The Beaten Path Studio Tour the weekend of October 23 through 25th, 2009.

This free, self-guided tour leads through breathtaking hills and hollows in DeKalb and Cannon Counties and around Center Hill Lake when fall colors are at their peak.

Along the way, you can stop and visit the studios of some of Tennessee’s leading practitioners of fine art and craft. These professional artists — working in glass, clay and ceramics, wood, fiber, paint, photography and other media — draw their inspiration from the pastoral, peaceful rural setting where they make their homes and studios.

One weekend each year they open their doors to the public, welcoming you in to meet with them, discuss their work, and acquire or commission a piece for you own enjoyment.

This year’s tour includes 10 studio, 26 participating artists, and the tour hospitality center, the Stella Luna Art Gallery in Smithville.

Studio stops, hosts and guest artists include: From the Earth and Sea Originals with host artist Sherri G, Raku-fired clay, and guest Randy Johns, wood furniture; Fresh Chairs with host chair maker Tim Hintz and guests Jeanne Brady, fibers, and Kimberly Winkle, wood furniture; Creek Ferry Potter, host Susan Demay, functional and decorative stoneware, and guest T.J. Edwards, clay; Cosmic Clay, hosts Louis and Christine Colombarini, decorative and sculptural clay, and guest Cheryl Ludwig, fibers and weaving; Beech Hollow Studio with hosts William Kooienga, wood sculpture, and Sharon Kooienga, spinning and weaving, and guests Sandre Krikke, fabrics, and Kendra McKimmy, jewelry and sculpture; Liberty Paper Mill, host Claudia Lee, handmade paper and books, and guests Cherry Cratty, pulp painting, and Book Babes, printmaking and books; Bareglass Studio, host Damon MacNaught, glass and mixed media sculpture, and guest Bill Luton, photography; Arlene’s Clay Studio, host Arlene Knaack, tiled ceramic wall murals, and guest Maggie Sunsera, jewelry and wall hangings; Fuhrman Glass Studio, host Tom Fuhrman, blown and stained glass, and guest Ed Wooten, stained and fused glass and Shaker wood boxes; and Creek Bend Pottery, with co-hosts Rob Harvey, traditional wood-fired stoneware, and Amy Potter, architectural ceramics, and guest Breanna Rockstad-Kincaid, fibers and felting.

For more information on participating artists and their work, downloadable brochures on the group and tour, a tour map and directions, please visit the group’s website: www.offthebeatenpathtour.com